The '''United States Congress''' is the [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] legislature of the United States of America federal government. It consists of two houses, the [[United States Senate|Senate]] and the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], with members chosen through direct [[Elections|election]]. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in [[Washington, D.C.]].

The '''United States Congress''' is the [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] legislature of the United States of America federal government. It consists of two houses, the [[United States Senate|Senate]] and the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], with members chosen through direct [[Elections|election]]. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in [[Washington, D.C.]].

General overview

Senate

The Senate is the upper house of Congress. Each U.S state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. This ensures equal representation of each state in the Senate. U.S. Senators serve staggered six-year terms.

House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House," is the lower house of Congress. Each state receives representation in the House in proportion to its population, but is entitled to at least one Representative. The total number of voting representatives is currently fixed at 435. There are also five delegates and one resident commissioner, who do not have full voting rights. House representatives serve two-year terms.[1]

According to the U.S. Constitution, Representatives must meet the following requirements:

Be at least 25 years old

Be a U.S. citizen for at least seven years

Be a resident of the state he or she represents

Word meaning

The term congress not only refers to the collective legislative body, but also to a specific two-year period. For example, the congress for the years 2011-2012 is also called the 112th U.S. Congress.[2][3]

U.S. Constitution

“

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.[4]

U.S. House

All 435 seats of the U.S. House are up for election in 2014. To regain control of the House, Democrats would need a pick-up of 15 seats. According to original analysis by Ballotpedia, only 27 congressional districts will be truly competitive in 2014.

U.S. Senate

The 33 Class II U.S. Senate seats are up for election. Of those 33 seats, 20 are currently held by Democrats and 13 by Republican senators. Additionally, three special elections will take place in 2014 to fill vacancies that occurred during the 113th Congress (Hawaii, Oklahoma and South Carolina). All three of these special elections will also take place on November 4, 2014, for a total of 36 Senate elections.

2012

A total of 468 seats in the U.S. Congress were up for election on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House

In a year where Barack Obama won re-election by 126 electoral votes, the Republican party maintained their control of the U.S. House winning 234 seats. The Democrats did make some gains, winning 201 seats. This is up from the 193 seats they held prior to the election.[5] This election marks only the fourth time in 100 years that the party that pulled the most total popular votes nationwide did not win control of the House.[6]

U.S. Senate

The Democratic Party retained control over the chamber, winning 25 of the 33 seats. With Republican candidates winning only eight seats, this was the worst performance by a major party since the 1950s.[5]